Sound pickups and amplification systems are used with various stringed instruments to sense string vibrations, convert those vibrations into electrical signals and amplify and project the resulting sound. Often, musicians who play acoustic instruments have the need to switch back and forth between projecting sound acoustically and picking up the sound to be electrically amplified. Accordingly, detachable pickups have been designed specifically for instruments constructed to project sound acoustically. However, known detachable pickup assemblies suffer from significant disadvantages.
A common drawback of existing detachable pickup assemblies is that they are difficult to attach and detach or awkward to plug in. These disadvantages include the size of the pickup assemblies, which may be unduly large and cumbersome. The location of the attachment mechanism on the instrument may be difficult for the user to reach as well. In addition, some detachable pickup assemblies require the entire assembly to be attached and detached each time. But even pickup assemblies that have a permanently attached component and a detachable component can be difficult to plug in as they may require screws or other types of fasteners. In some cases, entire pickup assemblies or mounting assemblies require after-market installation, which can be difficult and expensive.
Therefore, there exists a need for a detachable pickup assembly that is compact, situated at a convenient location and can be attached and detached quickly and easily. There also is a need for a detachable pickup assembly that has a permanently attached component that can be installed by the manufacturer so the user only needs to detach a small detachable component.